FACT-OF-THE-DAY ARCHIVE
"Our life is what our thoughts make it."
- Marcus Aurelius
JAN 2015

Previous Archives

DATE FACT OF THE DAY 1/1/15      A cat can jump up to five times its own height in a single bound. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/2/15      The theory of Pangaea states that all of Earth's current continents were originally a single supercontinent that existed some 200 million years ago during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. The northern part of the supercontinent, North America and Eurasia, was called Laurasia - and Gondwana, the southern part, was made up of Australia, South America, Africa, Antartica, and India. India later broke away and moved north to join Asia. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/3/15      Words form only 7% of our communication with anyone, including spouses. Tone of voice accounts for 38% and body language is responsible for 55% of the messages spouses receive from each other. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/4/15      In December 1952, air pollution in London created fatal smog that immediately killed 4,000 people and then 8,000 more in the following weeks. Burning coal was the main cause. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/5/15      A male emperor angelfish lives together with up to five female mates. If the emperor angelfish dies, one of the females turns into a male fish and becomes the leader of the group. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/6/15      Thailand is home to the world's largest gold Buddha, the largest crocodile farm, the largest restaurant, the longest single-span suspension bridge, and the world's tallest hotel. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/7/15      Foods that should not be given to cats include onions, garlic, green tomatoes, raw potatoes, chocolate, grapes, and raisins. Though milk is not toxic, it can cause an upset stomach and gas. Tylenol and aspirin are extremely toxic to cats, as are many common houseplants. Feeding cats dog food or canned tuna that's for human consumption can cause malnutrition. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/8/15      The Mississippi River carries an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of nitrogen pollution into the Gulf of Mexico each year, creating a "dead zone" in the Gulf each summer about the size of New Jersey. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/9/15      Many historians believe soccer originated in China around 1000 B.C. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/10/15      The "father" of Texas is Stephen Fuller Austin (1793-1836). He and his father helped move 300 American families ("The Old 300") to Texas. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/11/15      Nearly 75% of drunk drivers involved in fatal collisions are not wearing their safety belts. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/12/15      John Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison) starred in 14 WWII movies; however, due to a football injury, he never actually served in the war. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/13/15      The greatest number of takes for one scene in a film is 324 in Charlie Chaplin's 1931 City Lights. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/14/15      In November 2009, NASA declared that it had discovered water on the moon that could allow for the development of a space station on the moon. The water is billions of years old, which could give scientists clues into the history of the solar system. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/15/15      After the fall of Rome, human survival often became more important than breeding and training dogs. Legends of werewolves emerged during this time as abandoned dogs traveling in packs commonly roamed streets and terrified villagers. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/16/15      By the time a person in the United States is 65 years old, he would have seen an estimated two million television commercials. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/17/15      If brain cells were replaced, like skin or liver cells, scientists hypothesize we would lose our memories. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/18/15      Severe drought and dust storms exacerbated the Great Depression because it dried out farmlands and forced families to leave their farms. On May 9, 1934, a dust storm carried an estimated 350 million tons of dirt 2,000 miles eastward and dumped four million tons of prairie dirt in Chicago. The drought and dust killed tens of thousands of animals. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/19/15      The Zimbabwean dollar bank note holds the record for the greatest number of zeros shown (100,000,000,000,000). Hungary holds the record for the largest banknote ever issued, but its bank note did not depict all the zeros - the amount was spelled out. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/20/15      The 1883 eruption of the Krakatau volcano in Indonesia is thought to have released 200 megatons of energy, the equivalent of 15,000 nuclear bombs. Even though the island was uninhabited, the eruption killed 36,000 people as the result of burning ash showers and huge tsunamis. It generated the loudest sound historically reported. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/21/15      At its core, the sun's temperature is about 15 million degrees Celsius (about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit). - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/22/15      The National Osteoporosis Foundation estimates that about 24% of the approximately 300,000 people who fracture a hip each year die within one year. Many others suffer serious depression and withdraw from society because they are so afraid of breaking bones. Hip fractures are one of the most serious consequences of osteoporosis. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/23/15      While not all pregnant women will crave pickles and ice cream specifically, pregnancy cravings are rooted in the body's extra need for minerals and comfort-inducing serotonin. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/24/15      The largest carnivore that ever lived on land was the giant short-faced bear. Twice the size of the biggest modern bear, it was 6' 5" tall at the shoulder when standing on all fours. Scientists believe it had very long legs and chased antelope on the North American prairies. It died around 12,000 years ago. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/25/15      The world's strongest current is found in the Nakwakto Rapids at Slingsby Channel, British Columbia. The current has been measured at speeds up to 18.4 miles per hour. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/26/15      Unlike other cells, which contain an individual's full DNA, the egg and sperm each contain only half of the DNA required to create a new human. Both halves must be combined for humans to reproduce. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/27/15      There are approximately 1,500 active volcanoes, not counting undersea volcanoes. Of these, only about 20-30 erupt in any one year. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/28/15      China has taken over the U.S. as both the world's largest CO2 emitter and the world's largest energy consumer. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/29/15      The quality that ancient Egyptians valued most was called ma'at, which means good behavior, honesty, and justice. Ma'at is also the name of the goddess of truth who, according to myth, weighs every Egyptian heart after death. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/30/15      China is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, and the U.S.). It has an area of 3,719,275 square miles (slightly smaller than the U.S.) and its borders with other countries total more than 117,445 miles. Approximately 5,000 islands lie off the Chinese coast. - Provided by RandomHistory.com 1/31/15      Tortoises in the Mojave Desert store up to 1/3 of their body weight in urine. When they need water, the water in their urine flows back into their bodies while the waste remains and expels. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

Fact-of-the-Day Archives

2014
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN
2013
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN
2012
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN
2011
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN
2010
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN

[ Return to Fact-of-the-Day ]
[ Return to Refdesk Home Page ]